


Accidents Don't Just Happen Accidentally

by AHedgehogNamedMoose



Category: Dan Howell and Phil Lester - Fandom, Phan, Phandom
Genre: Bottom!Dan, Fluff, M/M, Rock Star, Shameless Smut, pastel!dan, punk!phil, top!phil
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-29
Updated: 2015-07-05
Packaged: 2018-04-01 21:14:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4034803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AHedgehogNamedMoose/pseuds/AHedgehogNamedMoose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A pastel wearing Dan is forced to take his little cousin to go see the latest preteen sensation, a punk artist named Phil Lester. However, while there he accidentally runs into Phil which leads to a crazy night and an even crazier couple of weeks. Dan learns many secrets about the boy and discovers that he is not as bad as he may seem and Phil discovers the joy of having a true friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Get Ready

It was a Saturday night and Dan wanted nothing more than to sit in his room alone quietly reading a book. Maybe he would reorganize his flower crowns and pastel sweaters if he was feeling a bit frisky. But no, that couldn’t happen. His mother was forcing him to take his little cousin to see some concert. Dan had never even listened the guy’s music before. Besides what was on the radio that is. But from a quick google search he saw that Phil Lester was rather attractive. Or extremely attractive. Whichever, both adverbs work.

Phil Lester was a pop singer that twelve year old girls liked to call punk to feel edgy, kind of like Five Seconds of Summer. Dan would not fit in at the concert. Everyone would be wearing black and semi punk clothes while he didn’t own much that would not blend into a nursery. He did have two expiations to that pseudo rule though. He wore exclusively too tight black skinny jeans and one outfit that he wore to his true punk concerts, which he didn’t want to get out for this. Dan didn’t really care if he was going to fit in though. The opinions of pre-pubescent girls meant nothing to him. He looked through his closet trying to find something to wear and decided on a white button down with a mint green cardigan and a flower crown made out of small daisies. And of course, his black skinny jeans.

He still had an hour before his little cousin was supposed to arrive, so he decided to play with his hair. Even though he didn’t care what the people there thought about him, he enjoyed doing his hair and still wanted it to look nice. He pulled out his straightener and went to work. His hair was naturally corkscrew curly, almost like a hobbit. Dan hatted it. His family members would always comment on it, saying it looked so cute on him and it really added to his pastel vibe. But he still hated it. Not only did he think that is framed his face awkwardly, but Dan thought that with a flower crown, his head was too busy.

While trying to get his bangs to have the perfect right sided swoop, his cousin snuck up behind him and grabbed his sides, startling him, causing Dan to burn his hand.

“Fuck!” He yelled out in pain. There were not many times that Dan swore. It only happens on two occasions actually. Pain and, well, you can guess the other. Krystal stepped back in shock, not sure of what happened, never hearing her older cousin curse before. She looked down and saw the red on his right forefinger where he got burnt.

“Oh god. Should I go get your mum?” She asked while trying to stay calm. Dan could detect a trace amount of worry and guilt in her voice.

“No, I should be fine. You did scare me though. I thought you weren’t coming until six?” He walked over to his connected bathroom and ran his hand under cold water. Krystal trailed right behind him.

“Well, I was, but then mum got annoyed at me because I wouldn’t stop talking because I was so excited and when I get excited I talk fast and forget to breath and just say super random things in run on sentences so my mom called your mom and your mom said that I could come over for dinner and that you would help me do my hair. Oh. Will you help me do my hair?”

Dan just stared at her with raised eyebrows with a slight smile.

“Are you almost done?” She just gave him a dirty look and grabbed his hand to drag him over to his bed. Dan walked over to his bookshelf and turned on his iHome, playing Muse. He gave a stern look directed at Krystal that said _not a word, I’m already taking you to your concert._ She wasn’t thrilled with the music choice but didn’t complain either.

He sat on the bed and she sat on the floor leaning against Dan’s legs.

_You could be my unintended._ The song started playing and Dan hummed along. He leaned back to grab his comb and straighter, letting it rest on his nightstand. _Choice to live my life extended_. Her hair was short, dyed a vibrant red, and was naturally curly like Dan’s own. _You could be the one I'll always love_. Even though they don’t see each other very often, he knew exactly how she wanted her hair. _You could be the one who listens to my deepest inquisitions_. He stated straitening in, being careful not burn himself again. _You could be the one I'll always love._

Once he got all the hairs down, including that really annoying piece in the back that just wanted to stand straight up, he got up and grabbed his hair putty.

“This will help keep its shape tonight,” he explained to the patiently awaiting girl. He asked her to stand up and face him so he could do this part easier. Even at seventeen, Dan was still six foot one, an entire foot taller than his tiny cousin.

He started to work the putty through her hair until it had a nice evenly spread and was workable. Once he got the shape exactly how he wanted it, she turned to look in the mirror.

“I look like a real emo,” she whispered in amazement. Dan let out a chuckle and lightly pushed her out of the way so he could finish his own hair. When he finally got his hair how he wanted it, his mum called both of them down for dinner.

“Wow Krystal, Dan really knows how to make your hair look amazing,” Dan’s mum said in astonishment, in which Dan rolled his eyes to.

“Thanks. I’m hungry and we have to go soon, Food?” The two girls looked at Dan like he was crazy but all three of them sat down to eat.

“Okay. Before we go, you need to know some rules because this is your first concert. We are on the floor and I don’t know if this will be like a punk concert, but if it is, if someone falls down, you stop and help them up. No matter what. Don’t hit anyone, even if things get crazy and a mosh pit starts, which I highly doubt will, don’t participate. Just leave that area. And please don’t scream perverted tings to the poor guy. You are thirteen and he is twenty one. No one wants to hear about how you want to do nasty things to him. Okay?”

“Yes _father,_ ” Krystal sarcastically responded. “Are you almost done with your food? We still have to pick up Charlie and Sherlock.”

Dan almost spat out his dinner.

“You have a friend named Sherlock? I could see that in other countries but here? Really? What were her, um, his parents thinking?” Dan wasn’t sure of the gender so he said both.

“Their,” Krystal responded nonchalantly. “They are agender, so use they them pronouns. And they changed their name about six months ago. Not their birth name. Did your mum not tell you about my friends?”

He was surprised but also proud about how chill his cousin was her friend’s gender. He looked up at his mum questionably.

“No, she didn’t. I thought it was just going to be the two of us. That’s okay though. Maybe I can dich you guys and just pick you up later.” He winked at his mum letting her know he wasn’t serous. Krystal just rolled her eyes. It seemed to be a common thing for his family to do.

“Well kiddo, you ready to go? You don’t want to be late to your first concert. Plus, the floor doesn’t have assigned seats so we need to get there as early as possible. Krystal jumped out of her chair and ran to the door.

“I’m ready if you are. Got the tickets?” Dan held up two tickets with his unburnt hand and gave his mom a kiss on the check. _It’s doing to be a long night,_ Dan thought to himself.

 

 


	2. Music To My Ears

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thanks to my amazing beta, Autumn!!

Krystal would not stop talking the entire car ride. Dan already didn’t know where any of her friends lived, so trying to find their houses was hell. She was rubbish at giving directions and often got distracted by whatever random thought crossed her head. He soon gave up and just pulled out his iPhone and prayed that apple maps would be better at directions than whatever nonsense was coming out of her mouth.

When he finally found Charlie’s house, a little red haired girl wearing a Harry Potter shirt was waiting on the porch playing on a 3DS. When Dan honked his horn, being a little impatient, she quickly put it in the mailbox and ran to the car.

“Hey bitches,” she greeted as she slid next to Krystal. Dan gave her a death glare in the rearview mirror for her language.  Krystal sure had a unique taste in friends.

“The mailbox?” Dan asked questioningly, deciding to leave her statement alone.

“What? Oh, it’s for safe keeping. I didn’t want to go back inside.” He thought that she was odd but didn’t seem like a bad kid.

“This is the gay one, right?” Charlie directed to Krystal.

Dan got caught off guard at that question and swerved a little.

“I take that as a yes,” Charlie responded smugly. _Please kill me_ ran through Dan’s head more than a few times. “Don’t worry, most of my friends are. Like Dean and Cassie, who I think are secretly banging. I am too. Gay that is. Not secretly banging. So no judgment from me.”

Dan’s face became hot and thought it best to not respond. There was no way he could pull this conversation in a normal direction. He also realized excessive talking might be a trait with all his cousin’s friends.

After about half an hour more of miserable direction giving, he finally found Sherlock’s house. Krystal gave them a quick call, which Dan thought was weird because who actually calls their friends anymore. But before long, they walked out.

Sherlock had short black hair, high cheekbones, and pale skin. He could understand why they chose that as their new name.

Dan mostly tried to block out their conversations. He did not need to nor want to hear what they were talking about. He soon realized that this might also be their first concert, and decided to give them the speech too.

“Listen up. I already explained this to Krystal but you guys need to hear it to. I don’t know how crazy this will get, but if it gets too violent for your liking, leave the area. We are on the floor so it will be a lot worse than if we had regular tickets. You guys can always get me and leave for a little bit if you need to, okay? And also, no screaming nasty things at the poor guy. Yet again, thirteen and twenty one. It’s gross.”

Dan got mumbles and eye rolls in response, but he was the adult, term used lightly, here and was responsible for them. He also wanted them to have a good time and if they were uncomfortable, that would be rather difficult.

After another fifteen minutes of lost driving, they stumbled upon the building where the concert was being held. Dan looked around and saw only prepubescent girls. Everywhere. He had a feeling that this would happen but he kind of wished he was wrong.

He was so out of place with his outfit and was feeling very judged. He didn’t know that thirteen year old girls could be so judgmental with just their looks.

Doors opened half an hour before they got there, making there be no wait line. Dan showed the ticket collector all four of their tickets and they strode to the pit. The second he walked in, his internal sigh began. His regret for saying yes to Krystal and her friends was quite strong at this point.

Not only did he stick out from his outfit choice, but he was also the tallest person. And pretty much the only guy. He groaned when he walked through the doors. Charlie, Krystal, and Sherlock were ecstatic though. They were laughing and smiling and already shoving their ways to the front row. Dan tried to push along, knowing the he should stay with them for a least a little bit. He felt bad about being so tall, blocking the people behind him views.

The room was at least thirty two degrees and Dan was already starting to sweat. He looked over and the girls were giddy with excitement. _Ew_ , he thought to himself. He understood their excitement, he really did, but he felt so out of place and so hot that he couldn’t help but be a little bitter.

They stood there for what felt like ages waiting for the opener band to come out. Dan didn’t recognize the first band, probably some local group that was just playing this one show. He was agitated for the other opening band though. Hands Like Houses. A band he secretly enjoyed.

It was a small venue, so he didn’t have much room to move. Dan just kind of stood there stiffly with his arms plastered to his chest so he didn’t accidentally hit anyone walking by. He wasn’t even able to turn without the very likely possibility of knocking over a preteen girl, so he waited motionless for the lights to dim.

Finally, after at least half an hour, the opening band came out. Nothing too exciting happened with them. They played some songs, screamed a little and most of the people were too awkward to actually jump or move, so everyone just stood there. After their set was finished, they welcomed the next band to the stage.

The room went black and all you could hear was bass. It made the floor shake and sent vibrations up Dan’s body. He was pretty sure he was the only person here who knew who they were, but he didn’t care. He wanted to enjoy himself at least a little bit tonight. The band entered the stage under a strobe light, making Dan dizzy but also eager. He could see them moving but only when the lights flashed, giving them a cool robotic look to them.

Dan was jumping as much as his six foot body could, but soon felt very light headed. He was sweating in his mint jumper, long sleeve shirt, and skinny jeans. _Stay, don’t go_. The song was roaring thought the hall. Realizing that he needed to get out of the unduly hot room, he tapped Krystal’s shoulder and pointed to the door. _I’ll eat you up, I love you so_. She looked confused but quickly realized that he was leaving. _I want you to follow and find me._ Dan battled his way out of the pit and finally found the door. _Howl like it’s us and no-one else._ He stumbled about, needing to find some fresh air. _We could keep out the sadness and stand so tall._ He saw a back door and decided to go outside to try to regain himself.   _We could run like wild things, and lie right where we fall._

The music just became noise when the door was closed. Once outside, he noticed that maybe he wasn’t supposed to be out there. There was a giant truck that was unloading loads of music equipment. Speakers, guitars, basses, drums, mics, and things he didn’t recognize.

All of a sudden everything turned sideways and Dan’s head hurt. _What the fuck_ , he thought. He felt the ground under the side of his face and put it together that he must have fallen over. _Jesus fucking Christ way to go Dan_. He cringed at his own stupidity. “Are you okay?” Dan heard a sweet, soothing voice ask. Before Dan could reply, everything went black. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember what I said about the chapter names getting better? I'm pretty sure that is a lie. They will forever be horrible. And the song in this chapter is The Definition of Not Leaving by Hands Like Houses.


	3. Yay They Meet

Dan woke up with a black haired boy just inches from his face. Confusion overtook him and he couldn’t remember where he was.

“Ow,” he moaned out. His head was throbbing and he felt very weak. He tried to move before the stranger grabbed his shoulders.

“Woah, hold up mate. Don’t try to stand. Here, drink.” A bottle of water was put in front of Dan’s face and he graciously accepted, drinking most of it in one go. He started to remember what happened and panic filled his veins.

 “Krystal,” he muttered, banging the back of his head against the wall. “I have to go find her. I’m her ride!” Dan stood up with urgency, almost falling over before grabbing onto the other boy once again.

“Don’t worry, you weren’t out for long. Like, two minutes max. I haven’t even gone on yet. Are you okay? What happened?”

  _What? Gone on? What did he mean…_ Dan tried putting the pieces together.His eyes widened as he realized who the onyx haired mystery boy was.

 “Oh god, I’m sorry. It was hot and I was dizzy and I just found a door and,” he was quickly cut off by the other boy insisting that it was fine and that he needed to sit back down. It was at that moment that Dan realized he was still being held up by Phil. _Krystal won’t believe me when she hears about this one._

He leaned up against the wall and slid down so he was sitting with his knees in his chest. He was handed another bottle of water and slowly sipped from it, feeling a little sick from drinking the first one all at once. The other boy sat down in front of him.

“So… I overheated, wandered outside, found my way to Phil Lester’s bus, and passed out. That’s a new one,” Dan joked, trying to lighten the mood. Phil reached behind him and grabbed something off the ground.

“First time for me too,” Phil giggled, placing Dan’s lost flower crown back on his head. “I think you lost this.”

Dan blushed at how close he was. Pictures couldn’t do this boy justice. His face was angled, but not pointy. He was soft while still having a manly face. In all the photos he saw, Phil’s eyes looked an unbelievable shade of grey, adding to the mystery of the punk singer. But up close, Dan could see that they were a piercing blue. His eyes looked like the ocean and Dan was certainly getting lost in them. He had gauged ears, but they didn’t look harsh or out of place. He had tattoos down to his elbows, elegantly inked into his skin.

Phil’s hand lingered on Dan’s head, slowly tracing down to his face. Phil touched Dan’s cheek with the back of his hand before a fellow band mate coughed, bringing him out of his trance.

“Oh, um, I mean, you okay mate? You can stay out here if you want, so you don’t pass out again. My detail will be out here with you too. I have to go get ready, it’s almost time for me to go on.”

Dan felt oddly cold at the loss of Phil’s hand. _Oh god, I forgot to pay attention to what was just said. Smile and nod? That usually works._ Dan was too busy staring into Phil’s eyes to hear what he said.

Phil laughed at Dan’s odd response and pushed himself up using Dan’s knees.

“Stay safe, okay?”

Dan nodded again, perplexed by Phil’s accent. It sounded very stereotypical for a British guy, but it had hints of Northern in it. He wondered if the other boy was trying to hide his upbringing by masking his accent.

Phil walked through the door that Dan come out of, looking back and smiling before going in. His tongue poked out of the right side of mouth, which Dan thought to be utterly adorable. He picked up the water bottle, taking another sip, and touched his flower crown. _Did that really just happen?_ was all that ran through Dan’s mind.

He laughed to himself, thinking about how amazing that would have been if he was actually a fangirl and not just a guy who thought he was cute.

……..

Phil went inside and was happier than he had been in a while. That boy didn’t seem to only want to talk to him because of who he was. In fact, he seemed a little uncomfortable with it. It was so refreshing. And judging by his clothes, Phil thought maybe he wasn’t even a fan. Phil had a rule against dating fans. He stopped dead in his tracks at that thought, causing his bassist run into him by accident. _Why am I thinking about dating him? He is just some really attractive guy that I meet literally five minutes ago._

Phil suddenly felt a wave of anxiety wash over him. He couldn’t do anything with the boy anyway. He wasn’t allowed to be gay in this industry. His band mates knew, but only because they were lifelong friends of his. And wait, didn’t that guy say something about being there with a girl? He had a girlfriend, so he should just forget about it. Literally nothing about this could end well. He lost all his drive and just wanted to lay down. He hated that his band mates asked him to not be with guys. “What kind of punk singer is a homo?” they would constantly remind him. It was the 21st century, no one cared anymore. It was stupid.

He realized that he didn’t even know the boy’s name and thought he would have to ask him after the show. Phil hoped that he would be okay. He heard the crowd cheering and knew that he was about to have to go on. He tried to get himself amped up again, but couldn’t stop thinking about that pastel boy. He wanted nothing more than to sit down and have coffee with him. He seemed more like a coffee than a tea kind of guy.

Normally before Phil would perform he would get these psyched pre-show jitters, but right now really just wanted to lay down and forget.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge thanks to my beta Autumn who puts up with a super erratic editing schedule!! Also, I'm sorry this chapter is a bit short; I have been super busy this week. Unless you are reading in the future and this is not the latest chapter and it doesn't really matter that it is short, in which, ignore what I said. I have also completely given up on trying to name the chapters decently.


	4. Outside Is So Much Better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this being a day late. It's a bit longer, hope that makes up for the delay!!

Dan sat outside until he felt somewhat normal again, still trying to process the night’s events. The detail that was out there just kept looking at him like he was about to commit a homicide. Any attempt at conversation he made was rudely ignored. Dan felt like he did something wrong. Which he guessed he did, but he didn’t do it on purpose. If he went back inside right away, chances are he would just pass out cause a scene, and disrupt the show. Quietly sitting outside was the best option at this point.

The sky was dark, yet the stars were non-visible because of a thin layer of smog. _Perks of living in a big city_ , Dan joked to himself. Dan laid on his back with his arms behind his head, admiring the beauty of the night sky. The moon was full and illuminated everything with a mystic glow. A tree rested above him and the leaves looked like fire, becoming shades of yellow, orange, and red from the changing season. The temperature was starting to drop and Dan felt a little more at ease. He gave up trying to make friendly conversation and decided to just enjoy the night. Although this beautiful scenery wasn’t the whole of why Dan’s evening was made.

Dan soon let his mind wander, always feeling more emotional when he was alone at night, not counting the speechless body guards.

_Phil seemed really cool,_ Dan thought to himself. _Really down to earth and actually sweet._ Dan moved his arm from under his head and grabbed his flower crown at the memory. He looked at it, almost able to feel Phil’s hand again, then hug it against his chest. _And when he touched my face, his hand was so soft. Why did he do that anyway? It was a bit odd. It didn’t feel odd though, it felt natural. Like it was meant to be. Oh fuck, when did I get that cheesy?_

Dan let his thoughts take over and he zoned out what was going on around him. All he focused on was the ideas running through his head, which always seemed to come back to Phil, and the moon filtering in between the trees.

Dan must have fallen asleep and when he came back to reality, his head was foggy and he couldn’t really remember what happened. Panic ran through him for a second time that night about his little cousin again. He promptly sat up and swiveled around, trying to find his phone.

While extending his arm in a rushed panic, he accidentally hit his burn against a tree and winced in pain. _Nice going Howell, Jesus Christ!_ Dan used his other hand to prop himself up and walked around the tiny outside area in search for his missing phone.

 The whole time that he was looking for it, Phil’s detail would not take an eye off him, acting like he was about to poison the water supply or cut the breaks to their bus. Dan wandered around looking everywhere, but it was gone. He knew he would have to ask one of them to call it, but he was not looking forward to it, deciding to busy himself.

As he walked by the bus, he saw his reflection and realized how messed up his hair was. What used to be perfect was now a chaotic jumble of hair sticking in wrong directions and a crooked flower crown tangled in his longer fringe. _I look like I’ve got sex hair going on or something. Ha, I wish._

His hands went to work trying to regain control over it but nothing he did seemed to help any. He had far too much hair product in for it to do anything remotely normal. The humidity was making it revert back to his natural hobbit hair, so there really was nothing that could be done at this point.

Dan still tried though, pushing and pulling his hair in all directions. His fringe was sort of in the right spot again, but the back of his head was totally sticking up because of how he was lying. While trying to get the pesky hairs to just _go back down where they are supposed to be god damn it you fuckers_ a cracked giggle startled him, causing Dan to jump and let out a high pitched squeal. The culprit let out another giggle at Dan’s reaction

With a very irritated and stern expression, he turned expecting to find one of the rude bodyguards but instead found, a now very sweaty, Phil.

“Having fun out here?” Phil said, winking to exasperate the innuendo.

Dan stared at Phil’s new look. Before he looked good, but now he looks downright gorgeous. His black fringe was plastered to his forehead and dripping with sweat. His skin glistened in the restricted lighting and his oceanic eyes stood out even more, lighting up his entire being.

“Uh, yeah. I mean no,” Dan awkwardly blurted out, reaching his hand up to rub the back of his neck. “I may or may not have accidentally fallen asleep out here.” _Smoooooth Dan. Way to totally not show how nervous you are._ The sarcasm was thick even in his own head.

“Was my show just that boring?” Phil retorted, leaning his shoulder against the bus. _Damn charisma._ Dan thought.

“I didn’t even get to see the show. I was stuck out here the whole time. More like, the night was so beautiful and captivating that it lulled me to sleep,” Dan poetically said, trying to regain some of his usual self.

“Well that’s no good, you payed for tickets but missed out! Maybe you shouldn’t have worn a cardigan to a punk show,” Phil winked.

 

“My mother payed for my ticket. And yes, I do realize how horrible that sounds after saying. But I brought my cousin and her friends here and my mum asked me to supervise. Which I did a horrible job of.. I really should go find her,” Dan sadly realized.

“Wait, your cousin? Krystal is your cousin..” Phil quietly said, trailing off at the end.

Dan looked up at Phil’s face and was puzzled by the mixed emotions displayed on it. He looked confused and almost, pleased? But why would he be pleased? _Oh god. Does he want to bang my cousin?_ His skin went cold at the thought. _She would definitely do it too. Oh god. Oh fuck. This is not happening. Does he know her age? I should try to casually slip it in._

“Yeah, she’s my little cousin. My mom thought she was too young to come alone and forced me to take her. Though I went to my first concert when I was thirteen and lived to talk about it. But I guess that since she’s a girl her and my mom both thought she could use extra protection.”

Phil turned to look at Dan and a confused smile crept onto his face.

“Yeah, I understand that. Young girls are more likely to do something stupid.”

“Yeah, anyway, I should probably go find her. Oh, my name is Dan by the way. Dan Howell. I don’t remember if I told you or not.”

Dan’s smile made little dimples and Phil couldn’t help but stare that them.

“Phil. Phil Lester, but I’m guessing you figured that out by now. Give me your phone.”

Dan questionably looked at Phil, wondering why he wanted his phone before remembering that it had magically disappeared.

“I actually have no idea where it is.. I seemed to have lost it when I came out here. Mind giving it a ring?”

Phil pulled out his phone and handed it to Dan without a second thought. He wondered what rock star would actually be this trustworthy. When Dan got it in hand, he turned it on and immediately laughed at his pink and yellow floral background, clashing with his black spiked phone case.

Phil looked at him before realizing what was happening and his face turned a deep cherry, not realizing the real reason behind Dan’s laughter. On Dan’s own phone, he had a phone case that was almost identical to Phil’s wallpaper, but he himself had a dark Muse edit for his background. _Total opposites. He secretly loves pastels and I secretly love darks. Kind of amazing actually._

Dan went to the phone app, completely oblivious to Phil’s now reddened face, and rang his own phone. A buzzing came from under the bus and Phil dropped on all fours and grabbed it.

He was down under the bus for quite some time, presumably trying to find the lost phone. He emerged soon after and gave the phone to Dan and dusted himself off.

“Nice background by the way. Muse is amazing. Total badasses too. They are such an inspiration,” Phil said.

“No way! Muse is like, my favorite band ever!” Dan excitedly exclaimed. His phone then buzzed in his hand. Looking at it, he saw six texts and two calls from Krystal.

“Shit, I have to go find Krystal and her friends. It is already past their bedtimes,” Dan joked.

“This conversation isn’t over, Dan Howell,” Phil lightly said.

Dan turned around after saying his goodbyes and called up his cousin. She was not pleased with being abandoned and the three of them were waiting at the car for the past fifteen minutes. Dan walked out and found three very pissed off small people.

“It’s about time. Let’s go,” Krystal rudely said. “Where did you even go? You left before Phil Lester even came on stage. It was a waste of money for you to buy a ticket.”

Dan was about to answer that he went outside to get air, which wasn’t a total lie, before Charlie spoke up. Her hair was now matted and sticking in awkward directions. _Maybe next time she will realize that you are supposed to wear long hair up._

“He probably went and hooked up with some emo guy. It doesn’t matter, let’s just go. I’m tired.”

They all mumbled in agreement and filed into the car in silence. _They sure are bitchy right now._

The drive was mostly silent except for Dan’s phone telling him when to turn, giving him time to try to understand what had happened.

He genuinely enjoyed talking to Phil. They seemed to have a lot of the same interests and he wasn’t stuck up or rude like he naturally thought a punk singer would be. Plus he wasn’t actually trying to sleep with Krystal, which Dan felt kind of bad for thinking now. He just seemed like a great guy. Not to mention he was really fucking attractive.

Dan dropped them all off at Krystal’s house, they wanted to have a sleep over and it was definitely not happening at Dan’s house, and went home.

He hopped in the shower and when he got out, he saw a text on his phone. When he picked it up to look at it, he saw that Phil made a contact for himself, complete with picture and personal information. Except that instead of his name, it said Lion. The only way that Dan knew it was him was the fact that the picture was taken from underneath the bus.

Lion: bored. where do you live? i’ll be there in ten.

Dan was in shock, but his emotions were purely joyous. He wondered why he put his name as Lion, Dan found it cute and endearing. He really liked Phil and maybe this meant that Phil liked him too.

He put a towel around his waist, walked to his room, and replied to Phil.

Dan: already miss me?

He pulled out his blow dryer on the off chance that Phil would actually come to his house but didn’t even have time to plug it in before his phone vibrated again.

Lion: of course Daniel Howell. you intrigue me. like seriously though, who the heck wears a cardigan to an event like this?

Dan laughed at the use of heck, giving who Phil is. He was a bit louder than originally anticipating and he hoped that it didn’t wake up his mom.

Dan: amazing people, that’s who. 7891 West Wokingham Ave. give me some time though, i just got out of the shower.

Dan threw his phone onto his bed and quickly tried to dry his hair. It was not really wanting to listen, but he used his straightener and got it to look semi decent and with product it didn’t look too bad. His closet was a mess by the time he finally found something he wanted to wear. He changed into a floral button down, a lilac jumper, black skinny jeans, and the same flower crown he had on at the concert. He wanted something to be the same.

Right as he was placing the flower crown on his head, his phone started buzzing, telling him that Phil had arrived.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this being a day late, I don't really have much of a reason, it just is. Anyway, a huge thanks to Autumn for helping me again!! If you think my uploading schedule sucks, you would be horrified by when I give her the chapters. I don't even have a schedule for her..


	5. I would say finally, but it's not that far into the fic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Sorry for disappearing, I had some family problems that I had to take care of and my beta fell off the face of the earth.. So this chapter is un-betaed so sorry about parts that don't flow very well or any grammar errors. If anyone is interested in being a beta for me, you should send me an ask!! My tumblr is the-party-may-now-commence. But yeah, here is an extra long chapter to make up for it!!

Dan raced down the stairs so fast that he almost face planted, but he luckily caught himself on the railing. He was excited but also nervous to see what Phil had planned for their night out. It still seemed unbelievable to him. Why would Phil Lester want to hang out with him? He wasn’t exciting or fun or even a fan. He was just some random guy at a random show.

Dan got to the door and quietly opened it, trying not to wake up him mum. _Only a few more months until I can move out. Then I won’t have to sneak out to hang out with incredibly attractive guys at two am. …what am I doing with my life?_

Phil was sitting on the railing and in a completely different outfit than what he was wearing earlier. Somehow he looked softer. He was still wearing all black, but his shirt was a regular loose crew cut band tee and his skinny jeans had no holes. His hair was more relaxed and wasn’t stiff with product, trying to make it stay perfect. He showered too, Dan noticed.

“Hey Dan,” Phil loudly said.

“Shh, my mum is asleep.” Dan said as he stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

He could see the contorted look on Phil’s face, probably on why he still lives with his mum. At that moment, Dan realized that Phil doesn’t even know his age. “I’m seventeen by the way. Eighteen in three months. In case you were wondering.” Dan saw Phil’s face relax a bit, probably happy that Dan wasn’t fourteen or something ridiculous like that.

“Nice. I’m twenty one.” Phil awkwardly stated.

“Yeah, I googled you before the show. And wow, I am just making myself sound more and more lame. Your music is good, I really do like it. I just never really listened to it so I wanted to look you up so I knew what kind of concert I was being dragged to. Not dragged, graciously forced to go to?” Dan’s voice inflexed at the end as he realized that he was making a complete fool of himself.

Phil let out a laugh at Dan babbling.

“I don’t really care that you google me or that my music isn’t your cup of tea. In case you didn’t notice, most of the people there were under the age of fifteen and female. Now, will you please get into my car? It’s really freaking cold out here.”

Dan and Phil briskly walked to the Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid and quickly filed in, trying to escape the cool air of the night. Without all the excitement of the concert, it was actually rather cold outside.

Under the dim light from the car, Dan could get a better look at Phil’s tattoos. There was a dragon going up his neck, most of it was hidden under his shirt though. He had flowers on his arm, but they were intertwined with skulls and thorns, as if to prove that he was punk. On his left hand, he had the bone structure of his hand and the ring finger had a crack right below the knuckle. Everything on him was so interact and detailed, they must have taken hours and multiple sessions to do. Phil sure what dedicated to his tattoos. They looked kept up too. None of them were even faded.

They drove around the city, seemingly with no destination in head, just laughing and joking and getting to know eachother.

“Truth or dare,” Phil smiled, looking over at Dan.

“Seriously? What are we, four?” Dan laughed out. Even though this night is ridiculous and they haven’t really talked about anything, it had been the most fun he had had in quite some time. They were laughing about stupid things and just letting go of the world.

“Come on, it will be fun. Where’s a nearby park? We can sit down and not be in a cramped car.” Phil slowed down, giving Dan more time to think of an answer.

“We might be out of a car but we will be surrounded by scary homeless people and drug dealers waiting to murder helpless people like up.”

Phil looked over at Dan and smirked, letting what he said sink in.

“You don’t look that intimidating Phil,” Dan said, raising an eyebrow. “You are more of the adorable punk type than the scary punk type.” Dan froze up when he realized what he said but Phil didn’t seem to notice. “Whatever. There’s one a few miles from here, let me pull up directions on my phone.”

They found their way to a semi light park that seemed to be void of people, which Dan was thankful for. Wondering around a bit, they found that there was nowhere to sit. They also soon discovered that the grass was wet when Phil sat down and came back up with a wet butt. So they decided to sit of the hood of Phil’s car. Dan felt safer that way too; they could just get up and leave if the needed to.

Phil looked at Dan was a playful grin.

“Truth or dare?”

“More like ‘who do you like or preform an awkward sexual act,’” Dan sarcastically retorted.

Phil raised his eyebrows and Dan got the message.

“Fine. Truth.”

Phil seemed satisfied that he got Dan to play along, but soon realized that he didn’t have a question for Dan. It should have been easy because he didn’t know anything about the boy, but that only made it harder. He didn’t even know where to begin.

Trying to be cheeky, Phil asked “who do you like?” with a wink.

Dan rolled his eyes at the use of his own words against him.

“Or would you rather do an awkward sexual act? I mean, either work.” Phil’s tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth again. Dan wondered if it was a habit and he hopped so, because it was damn adorable.

“Come on, ask me a real question. You don’t know anything about me so there’s a whole world of questions.” Dan leaned over and slightly bumped shoulders with Phil, trying to tease him about his lack of creativity.

“Rude.” Phil retorted. “Um, tell me about yourself then.” Realizing that wasn’t a question, Phil reworded what he said. “I mean, what are three things about yourself that you want me to know? Or anyone in general I guess. A friend. Someone you just met but want to be close to. So like three secrets that you don’t want hidden? Feel free to stop me anytime, I am just blabbering now and it will probably happen a lot..” The words turned into laughter by the end.

Phil was looking at the ground while trying to form too many thoughts and too many words. Dan looked over at him and stared. _Phil is beautiful. He is so much more than attractive or hot or sexy. He is gorgeous._ Dan caught himself smiling at the way Phil’s eyes lit up when he spoke. The blue seemed to glow in the night light and Phil’s awkward gaze at the ground only made it better.

“I would rather listen to you go on. It’s quite entertaining,” Dan said after Phil stopped talking and looked back up.

“Three things about myself,” Dan quietly mumbled. _Should I go deep, basic, or funny? One of each. That works, right?_ “Well, I once peed my pants in first grade and I still have nightmares about it; I am very pastel as you can tell, but I have a secret punk side that only comes out when my favorite bands come to town;” Dan’s voice got quite as he switched his gaze from the clouds to the ground and continued, “and I’m gay.”

He knew that he had to tell Phil. It was a part of who he was. His identity. Dan could only wish that Phil would be okay with it.

Before Phil got a chance to say anything, Dan asked him truth or dare. He was too afraid of losing whatever might be there because of something like that. He would rather have Phil not answer then risk having that answer be full of hate.

In between his self-loathing thoughts, Dan heard Phil say truth. He looked over and saw a true smile on Phil’s face, causing Dan to blush.

“Which tattoo is your favorite and why?” They kept each other’s eyes until Phil finally broke it to look at his body. He inspected his arms and his hands before smiling and raising his shirt, exposing his chest.

“This one,” he said pointing to an atomically correct heart over his own heart. Dan was awkwardly staring at Phil’s naked chest while Phil pointed to his heart. _Damn, he shaves? His chest is perfectly hairless._

Phil made eye contact with the ground and was fiddling with his fingers.

“My cousin, who I used to be very close with, was born with a weak heart. He lived his life relatively normal, minus a lot of exercises, but we all knew he had a short life expectancy. They said he would live to be about twelve and on his twelfth birthday, he was moved to the top of the heart transplant list and within two weeks would be able to get a new heart. It was a miracle. It happened right when he would be entering his deathbed. The doctors said that with the surgery, he should be able to live until at least twenty five.

“But that night, the night of his twelfth birthday, he feel asleep and never woke up.” Phil looked up and Dan could see the tears in his eyes, but he still had a smile on his face. “A little girl got moved up on the list and she is still alive today. I was fourteen at the time. This, this is for him. I will never forget.”

Dan was a very sympathetic person and felt pins in the back of his eyes, telling him that he was about to cry. Feeling a tear run down his face, he leaned his head against Phil and wrapped an arm around his waist. In a totally supportive and platonic way. Phil laid his head on top of Dan’s and they both sat there for a few minutes.

“Well, that got sad quickly. While the mood is down, have any depressing things to say?” Phil said without moving his head.

“Hm,” Dan said in acknowledgement. He thought for a moment before deciding to say it. “My dad is dead. He died two years ago in a car crash.” He didn’t say anything else and Phil didn’t push. They just stayed still laying on each other, soaking up the comfort, and silently letting tears fall. Phil’s hand found its way into Dan’s but neither boy were complaining.

After what felt like hours but was probably closer to ten minutes, Dan finally spoke up. He was afraid that Phil might think this was too gay and hate him, so he didn’t want it to go past platonic support.

“Truth or dare.” Dan lifted his head up, but was still leaning against Phil.

Phil laughed at Dan’s attempt to bring the mood back up and played along.

“Dare,” Phil said, looking Dan in the eyes as if he just gave the other boy a challenge.

“Oh, dare you say. You will regret that decision.” Dan looked around, trying to find the most horrible thing to do but this park was rather empty and sad, only having a small play area for children. “I dare you to go down the slide head first on your back.” Dan knew that it was lame but he couldn’t really think of anything else. He might turn to google after this if Phil doesn’t think that’s too lame.

Phil gave Dan a confused look.

“That’s your idea of horrible. You are so lame man. Like seriously.”

Phil got off the hood of the car and started to walk over but when noticed Dan wasn’t following him, he walked back, grabbed his hand, and told him that he has to come too.

They walked over to the play equipment in the middle of the park, but Dan was no longer nervous or afraid of what lurks in the dark and he realized that it might have been because the fact that Phil’s hand was still secured around his own.

_Fuck. I can’t be thinking like this.._

They reached the playset and Dan’s hand felt cold when Phil let go of it. He felt like he was missing something and became a little sadder at the loss of the new guy’s hand.

Phil jumped up onto the black perforated structure, skipping the stairs entirely, and walked over to the tallest slide. It was yellow and one of those ones that have three paths, all with different bumps on them. Dan stayed on the ground and walked to where the end of the slide was. Phil laid down on the far right one so he was staring at the stars and slid down, but didn’t get off the slide.

“This is surprisingly comfortable and the sky is so beautiful tonight. Come lay next to me.”

Dan giggled at Phil’s whinny command and got onto the slide in the middle, right next to Phil.

“I no longer have any blood in my feet and my brain is swimming in it. How exactly is this comfortable?” Dan complained.

“Oh come on. Look at the stars. They are just lounging up there, twinkling, not having a care in the world. It’s truly amazing.”

Dan let out a sigh and looked up. It was a rather clear night and the stars were dancing around the sky. He was lost in thought when he heard humming coming from next to him. He looked over and saw that Phil was zoned out, staring at the stars, and humming a song that Dan didn’t recognize.

Dan was entranced by Phil. He seemed like he should be so hard and cold, with gauged ears, tattoos, and piercings, but he was actually a super sweet and insightful softie. He didn’t even swear outside of his songs.

The humming slowly turned into soft quite singing and Dan refused to look away. A smile grew on his face that made his eyes get all squinty, but he couldn’t care less.

“Calling out your name,

while you call out mine.

sweet kisses shared.

You’re looking so fine.

And I just want to love you all night,

all night.”

 Dan just watched in awe as he heard the lyrics sung so beautifully. He now recognized the song, it was one of Phil’s more popular ones, but normally that part sounds so harsh and is screamed, not sung. It sounded so beautiful when it was like that.

“Now that I can actually understand the words, that song is pretty vulgar. Like seriously. ‘Calling out your name while you call out mine?’ That’s just wrong.” Dan criticized.

Phil turned his head so he was inches away from Dan.

“It has to be. I mean, I would love to sing sappy happy fluffy songs, but that’s not what my band is. I don’t really like it either though. Some of the songs are okay, but I am forced to sing really gross songs and the main people who listen to them are preteen and teenage girls. And that’s just..” Phil shuddered at the thoughts of all the young girls listening to him sing about sex, then gave Dan a half smile.

He didn’t know why he was opening up like this but he felt like he could tell Dan anything. He trusted Dan in a way that he had never trusted anyone before. It felt kind of nice to have someone like that, even if he did have to leave the next morning.

“Ew. I never thought of that before. That must be gross, knowing that people so young are listening to your songs.”

They were still looking in each other’s eyes and neither had the intention of looking away anytime soon. Phil noticed how Dan’s eyes weren’t just brown, they had gold flakes and a ring of yellow. They were incredibly beautiful and Phil would never get bored staring into them.

Dan slowly leaned forward without realizing it as Phil did the same. They both knew what was about to happen but at the same time they were completely oblivious. They were centimeters apart and Dan could feel Phil’s warm breath heating up his cold face. He looked like a dragon with his+ breath because it was so cold outside.

He closed his eyes and leaned in more, slowly becoming aware of the situation. Phil did the same and their lips met in a sweet and unsure kiss. They stayed like that for a few moments, almost too scared to move. It was a bit awkward but they didn’t seem to care. Their lips just sat their gently touching each other’s before Phil pulled away just enough to look into Dan’s eyes, their noses and foreheads resting against the other, giving some warmth on this cold autumn night.

“Dan, I have to tell you something.” Phil whispered, as if talking any louder would shatter their small little world.

Dan just looked at Phil with a sparkle in his eyes and he continued.

“Dan, I’m gay too.”

Dan was attacked by laughter before he could stop himself. It only lasted a few seconds before he got control over himself again and looked back at Phil’s horrified face.

“Well I fucking hoped you were something after tonight.” Dan said, trying not to laugh more.

Phil playfully hit himself on the shoulder and sat up, simultaneously deciding to walk back to the car because it was cold as fuck outside. Hand in hand, they found their way to the car.


End file.
